Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea noted on Monday that the “phenomenon” of Sheikh Ahmed al-Asir is a product of local conditions in Lebanon, calling on all Lebanese to support the army and state given the clashes in the southern city of Sidon.

He told Free Lebanon radio: “The phenomenon of Hizbullah produced several other phenomenons, including that of al-Asir.”

“We are all citizens who enjoy the same rights and duties, but when one citizen sees that another enjoys superiority over him regarding these rights, then he is bound to react against this reality,” he said.

“Hizbullah has violated all laws and state institutions seeing as it revolts against any political issue that it opposes, which was demonstrated during the May 7, 2008, clashes,” Geagea continued.

“We believe that the army's tackling of the situation in Sidon marks the beginning of addressing the possession of illegitimate arms and the presence of 'statelets' in Lebanon,” he noted.

“When a portion of Lebanese believe that they have the right to form an armed group independent of the state, then other Lebanese will follow suit,” he explained.

“This is the mistake that al-Asir committed and the only way to end this reality lies in resorting to state institutions, starting with the army,” he remarked.

“We can no longer tolerate illegitimate arms, whether they are in al-Asir's possession or Hizbullah's,” he said.

Moreover, Geagea added that the demand to eliminate al-Asir's phenomenon should continue to include the arrest of those who killed Hashem al-Salman in front of the Iranian Embassy in Beirut on June 9.

“Tackling one phenomenon and not the other will not end the current situation in Lebanon, because similar armed groups will emerge in the country in the future,” he explained.

“The bigger problem lies in the presence of Hizbullah because failure to tackle this problem will create future one and we will continue to move from one bad situation to a worse one,” noted the LF leader.

“From now on, we will demand that the state perform its duties until the end, which goes beyond ending the unrest in Sidon,” he said.

“Where are Salman's murderers?” he wondered.

Lebanese Option Party member Hashem Salman was killed and at least eleven others were wounded in a scuffle between supporters of Hizbullah and protesters near the Iranian Embassy in Beirut.

The demonstrators were holding a sit-in near the embassy to protest Hizbullah's involvement in the war raging in Syria.

Geagea stressed that the state cannot choose to assume its full responsibilities at certain instances, while at others, it only perform part of them.

“Officials cannot remain in power if some regions remain outside the state's control for unknown reasons,” he added.

On Sunday, Geagea had held talks with President Michel Suleiman at the Baabda Palace.

He said that the visit was scheduled before the eruption of the Sidon clashes.

He revealed that the discussions focused on the unrest and the security situation in Lebanon.

He later contacted Army Commander General Jean Qahwaji, MP Bahia al-Hariri, and head of the Mustaqbal bloc MP Fouad Saniora to discuss the latest security developments.

Clashes broke out on Sunday between the army and supporters of Salafist cleric Sheikh Ahmed al-Asir in the southern city of Sidon.

The military command said the number of troops killed in the fighting rose to 12. There were also more than 50 injuries among the ranks of the soldiers, but it was not clear how many fighters were killed in the unrest.

The clashes erupted when al-Asir's supporters surrounded an army checkpoint in the area, where a vehicle transporting other supporters of the cleric had been stopped.

After the armed men attacked the troops with gunfire, the army fired back.

After amn al massi7i tole3 art 7akeh bi art 7akeh, Dr. Arreet 7akeh continues with his art 7akeh bi art 7akeh, to which his followers, Drs. Arteena Satleh shake and clap like the retards that they are. wlak min addak ya 7ak...awati moumil? Now we know that his "minnina" who destroyed Achrafiyeh when caricature of Mohammad were drawn IN EUROPE were a result of... well... umm... duh... Hiz'miscalculations?

So Flamethrower, what part of Geagea's solution doesn't make sense to you? should we just disarm one group? is one more legit than the other?
I'm not a fan of any political leaders in Lebanon, but disarming groups that are not state affiliated or controlled makes alot of sense!

So Flamethrower, what part of Geagea's solution doesn't make sense to you? should we just disarm one group? is one more legit than the other?
I'm not a fan of any political leaders in Lebanon, but disarming groups that are not state affiliated or controlled makes alot of sense!
Unless you use fasoulia for ammunition! :)

no one cares about asir you idiot ft.
we do care about Lebanon and what these events are bringing on Lebanon for years to come.
you are truly a sectarian idiot trying to blame others for what your masters and secte are doing.

man...you need to cure that disease of yours...I'm just not like you...geagea is not "my man", assir is not "my assir" (certainly not, he can rot in hell), and your post is a big blow of air...empty and useless...oh well...just like you!

What happened to the original FT? Did he sell his username to a useless 15 year old who can't spell, speak and state.
As to Mr. Geagea's comments, I think they are mostly "just". My only concerns is comparing the death of the individual in front of the Iranian embassy (which is unacce

What happened to the original FT? Did he sell his username to a useless 15 year old who can't spell, speak and state.
As to Mr. Geagea's comments, I think they are mostly "just". My only concerns is comparing the death of the individual in front of the Iranian embassy (which is unacceptable) to that where 15 members of our armed forced were ambushed and killed. They're both wrong but have a different level of treasoning involved.

let us deal with the direct threat that is hizbushaitan first.
the Palestinians are not the current issue, and we should deal with that problem through changing the existing rules of engagement with them.
remember it hizbushaitan that refused to even reign in Palestinians outside the camps!

why are you mixing things up? asir is a nuisance and should have been stopped long ago before he became what he is, and not make a martyr of him so that our future will become like afghanisatan.
but still that does not justify hizbushaitan being outside the control of the state, which is THE excuse each and every nut case like asit is raking to get arms and go rogue.
so still the root of all evil is hizbushaitan.
why does not the army disarm them instead of assisting them?
why does not the army prevent the killing of Salman in front of their eyes at the hands of hizbushaitan?
why does not the army assist salman while his blood was pooring on the street?
these are unjustifiable actions from an army that respects itself.

FT, I'm not a big fan of Geagea because of his history, but what he has been foretelling in recent years is coming to reality. HA has no right to act on my behalf as a Lebanese citizen because they are not part of the legitimate ruling authority for whom I have exercised my voting power. HA is not allowed to have a militia, go fight in foreign lands, etc. If others are doing it, then they are just as wrong as HA. The problem is that others are using HA as an excuse so they can do it themselves. If you eliminate HA as a militant organization that is immune to the rules under which everyone else has to abide, then all of us can work toward eliminating other militant organizations. Until you do that, the persistence of HA is excusing the proliferation of other militant groups. It is not for anyone to say that one militant organization is "good and holy," while another is "evil." This subjectivity is what is doing everyone in. HA needs to disarm...period.

Well, guess what. Bachir is dead. Killed by Assad senior. (my Older sis asked president Amine himself when he was giving a speech to lebanese expats here in the European country I live in)
Hariri is dead, killed by the same and his sanafer you're defending. Then Pierre Gemayel....

Yet, you defend the killers, which is NOT acceptable from a pro Bachir.

geagea is right! when you let one party armed then it would only encourage other extremists to do the same as no one prevents them from doing what they want... they have the decision of war and peace in place of the true decider which is the gvt! those who encourage hezbis to detain weapons knew that they would trigger this situation! it is what they dreamt of for years.... then hezbis hypocritically side with the army to show how "good" they are! but the day the army decides to take their weapons you ll see that hezbis won't care anymore about the army they praise today!